Locking mechanism.



No. 758,941. PATBNTED MAY 3, 1904.

N. B. STONE.

LOCKING MEGHANISM.

APPLICATION FILED JULY `2, 1903.

N0 MODEL. 2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

ai-f y .n Tf y f un!" UHU i: w hucml'o/a/ 'PATENTED MAY 3, 1904.

N. B. STONE. LOCKING MECHANISM.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 2, 190s.

2 SHEETS--SHBET 2.

NO MODEL.

VAI/AMM riff/5511.0

III! nu UNTTED STATES Patented May 3, 1904.

NrYlHANlEL B. STONE, OF OUTLOOK, NVASHINGTON.

LOCKING IVIECHANISWIl SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No.758,941, dated ll/Iay 3, 1904.

Application filed July 2, 1903. Serial No. 164,087. lNo model.)

To rt/Z 'Hf/1,0m, 71ml/ coltccrlt:

Beit known that l', NATHANIEL B. STONE, a citizen otl the United States,residing' at Outlook, in the county of Yakima and State ot' 1Vashington, have invented a new and uset'ul Locking' Mechanism, ot' whichthe following is a specitication.

The present invention relates to locking' mechanism that may be employedfor various purposesas, t'or instance, securing' the covers ot'money-boxes, toy sat'es, and the likeA though not limited to use inconnection with any particular kind or class ot' receivers orrcceptacles.

The object ot the invention is to provide a novel and simple combinationot' elements which will securely lock two members ag'ainstdisassociation either throug'h accident, inadvertence, or the attemptsot' an unauthorized person Lin-acquainted with the method ot' operatingthe same, said combination, however, being easily operable by onehaving' knowledg'e thereof.

Several embodiments are illustrated in the accompanying drawings,constituting` a part ot' this application, and it will be understoodthat still other moditied Vforms maybe constructed without departing'from the spirit or scope of the invention.

In the drawings, Fig'ure 1 is a side elevation of a receptacle in whichthe improved locking mechanism is employed. Fig'. 2 is a verticalsectional view through the upper portion ot' the same. Figs. el, and 5are sectional views taken on the line u' .1x ot' Fig. 2 and showing' themanner of opening' the cap. Fig'. 6 is a vertical sectional viewillustrating' the cap removed. Fig'. T is a detail perspective view ot'the upper portion ot' the receptacle. Fig. 8 is a vertical sectionalview throug'h a slig'htly-modilied form o't' construction. Fig'. 9 is asimilar view through another embodiment ot' the invention. Fig. 10

is a horizontal sectional view taken on the line y g/ of Fig'. 9.

Similar reference-numerals indicate corresponding' parts in all thetigures of the drawings.

Re'i'erring tirst to the embodiment illustrated in Figs. 1 to T,inclusive, it will be seen that a receptacle-body 10 is employed whichmay be ot' any desired contour, being shown as cylindrical. Thisreceptacle is provided with an upstanding' contracted neck 11, having anannular groove 12 at its upper end, the upper wall ot' the groove beingformed by an outstanding' flange 13. Detachably fitted over the neck andtelescoped therewith is a cap 141, having' a cylindrical body portion15, which incloscs said neck. This body portion is provided with anexterior annular milled surface 16, by means ot' which the cap may bereadily rotated. The body portion is provided in its inner face with anannular g'roove 17, which when the cap and neck are litted togethercoacts with the groove 12 to form a raceway. In this raceway are placeda pair ot' freely-movable independent rollers in the torm of balls 18and 19, said balls being' of sutticient diameter to eng'ag'e in bothgrooves, as clearly illustrated in Fig. 2. 1t will be observed that thegroove 12 is considerably wider than the groove 17, and thus the cap maybe moved longitudinally to a ce1'- tain degree, though its detachment isprohibited by the balls engaging the flange 13. The neck 11 is providedin diametrically opposite sides with seats 2() and 21, which open intothe lower side of the groove 12. The cap 14 carries projections in theform ot' lugs 22 and 2B, which extend across the groove 17 and whilelocated on opposite sides of the body portion are not diametricallyopposite. In other words, when one ot' the lug's is located over a seatthe other lug will be at one side of the opposite seat. In connectionwith this structure there is preferably employed a retaining-sleeve 24,slidably titted on the lower portion of the neck and movable over thegroove 12, being held against removal by the outer edge oi' the. llange13, as illustrated in Fig'. 6, the diameter oi' the lower portion of theneck being' less than the diameter of the upper portion, including theliange. The lower edge otl the sleeve is provided with an outstanding'rib 25, against which the lower edge of the cap abuts when the latter isplaced upon the neck. \'Vhen the rollers 18 and 19 are in the seats 2Oand 21, they are entirely out of the groove 17 of the cap, andconsequently are not interlocked with said cap. Furthermore, the lugs 22and 23 will pass directly over the rollers without interference fromthem; but when the rollers are loose in the raceway the cap andreceptacle are thereby interlocked, while the sides of the lugsconstitute shoulders which will move said rollers about in the raceway.To lock the cap upon the receptacle, it is only necessary to place therollers or balls in the seats and retain them by means ofthe sleeve 24,as illustrated in Fig. 6. The cap can then be placed upon the neck andupon being depressed will move the retaining-sleeve downwardly, so thatwhen the groove 17 comes into alinement with the balls it will drop intothe raceway thus formed. The parts are thereby securely inte'rlocked,and the rollers cannot again be placed in their respective seats bymerely rotating the members. Moreover, the natural method would be todraw the cap outwardly as Jfar as possible before rotating it. This, itwill be observed, would carry the path ot' movement of the ballsentirely away from the seats. In order to unlock and remove the cap, thefollowing procedure is necessary, which is clearly indicated in Figs. 3,4, and 5. The receptacle is held in substantially horizontal positionwith one of the seats uppermost. The cap is then rotated, whereupon oneof the balls, as 18, will drop into the uppermost seat 20, while theother will be moved against it by the projection 23, as illustrated inFig. 1. The movement of the cap is then reversed, thereby carrying thelug 23 rearwardly and permitting the ball 19 to gravivtate in a similardirection. This movement is continued until the lug 22 is broughtdirectly above the ball 18,' whereupon the lug 23 will be at one side ofthe lower seat 2'1, while the ball 19 will be located directly beneathsaid seat, all of which is illustrated in Fig. 4. The receptacle and capare then rotated simultaneously in the direction shown by the arrows inFig. 5, which will carry the seat 21 and by means of the lug 23 the ball19 upwardly until said ball drops into the seat. At the same time thelugs 22, being located directly in rear of the ball 18, will prevent thedisengagement of said ball. The balls now being in the seats, as alreadystated, are entirely out of the groove 12 of the cap and said cap may bereadily removed. At the same time by grasping the outstanding rib 25 ofthe retainingsleeve said sleeve is moved outwardly simultaneously withthe cap and the balls are held against displacement. It will be apparentthat this structure is extremely simple, but at the same time cannot bereadily operated by a person unacquainted with the combination. In orderthat the operator may readily locate the lugs and seats, suitablescales, as illustrated in Fig. 1, are provided upon the body portion ofthe cap and the adjacent faces of the receptacle, these scales coactingin a manner readily understood. In order to make the combination lesseasily understood, the scale carried by the cap is preferably markedupon a collar 26, revolubly mounted upon the lower portion of the bodyof the cap. Thus the scale may be rotated as desired, but 'may bebrought into proper position by means of a suitable mark, as 27, locatedon the cap and coacting with any of the marks desired on the scale.

In Fig. 8 there is illustrated a slightly-modified form of construction.In this instance the neck of the receptacle is provided in its innerface with an annular groove 17 n, while the cap 14 has its body portion15 inserted within the neck and provided in its exterior face with anannular groove 12a. In this instance the cap has the seats 20a. In otherwords, the parts are exactly the reverse of those illustrated in Figs. 1to 7; but the operation is the same, as will be readily seen. It istherefore believed that no extended description of this structure willbe necessary.

In Figs. 9 and 10 there is illustrated a very simple form ot' thelocking mechanism. The receptacle 10b has an upstanding neck 11b,provided with an annular groove 12b. The neck is provided with seats2Gb, spaced apart, but located on the same side of said neck and openinginto the groove. A cap 14b is employed, which tits over the neck and hasan internal annular groove 17" coacting with the groove 12b to form araceway. In this instance the grooves are of the same width, and insteadof balls cylindrical rollers 18h and'19b are employed. A single abutment22b is employed, which is carried by the cap and eX- tends across thegroove 17 b. A retainingsleeve 24" is provided, as in the former case,while an index-collar 26D is also employed. In this particularconstruction the receptacle is held in horizontal position with theseats uppermost, and the cap is then rotated until the lug 22" willcarry one of the rollers, as 18h, into one of the seats. The cap isthenrotated in a reverse direction to permit the roller to gravitate tothe lower portion of the raceway and is completely revolved to bring theprojection 27 b on the opposite side of the same, whereby upon acontinued movement ot' the cap the roller 19h will be elevated into 'theother seat, and the cap then being unlocked can be removed. It isintended in the specication and claims that the term roller shall bebroad enough to include balls, cylindrical rollers, as illustrated inFigs. 9 and 10, or comparatively thin disks. v

From the foregoing it is thought that th construction, operation, andmany advantages of the herein-described invention will be apparent tothose skilled in the art without further description, and it will beunderstood that various changes in the size, shape, proportion, andminor details of construction IOO may be resorted to without departingfrom the spirit or sacril'icing any of the advantages ot' the invention.l

Having thus described my invention, what l claim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is-

1. In mechanism of the class described, the combination with relativelyrevoluble members, ot a movable device interlocked with the members, oneotl said members having a seat for the device, the other member having aportion arranged to engage the device to move it into coacting relationwith the seat, said device when in the seat being' out ot coactingrelation with one ot' the members.

Q. In mechanism ot' the class described` the combination with relativelyrevoluble members, ot' a roller interlocked with both ot' the members.one ot' said members having a seat for the roller, the other memberhaving a portion arranged to engage the roller to move it into coactingrelation with the seat, said roller when in the seat being out ofinterlocking engagement with one of the members.

3. In mechanism ot' the class described, the combination with relativelyrevoluble and detachably-assoeiated members, ot' a roller interlockedwith the members and freely movable with respect thereto, one of saidmembers having a seat for the roller, the other member having a shoulderarranged to engage the roller to move it into coacting' relation withthe seat, said roller when in the seat being' disassociated `from theother member.

i. ln mechanism ot' the class described, the combination withrevolubly-associated members having coacting grooves forming a raceway,ot a roller movable in the raceway and engaging in both grooves, one ofsaid members having a seat opening' into its groove and constructed toreceive the roller, anda shouldeil located in the groove of the othermember and constructed to abut against the roller, said roller when inthe seat being' out otl the groove ot the other member.

ln mechanism otl the class described, the combination with revolubly anddetachably associated members having telescoped portions, said portionsbeing. provided with annular coacting grooves in their adjacent facestorming a raceway, ot a roller freely movable in the raceway, one otlthe members having' a seat opening into its groove to receive theroller, and a lug extending' across the groove ot' the other member andconstructed to abut against the roller when said roller is in theraceway.

6. In mechanism ot' the class described, the combination withrevolubly-associated members. ot' rollers interlocking the members, oneotl said members having seats to receive the rollers, and means carriedby the other member to move the rollers and retain certain ot them inthe seats.

7. In mechanism otl the class described, the

combination with revolubly-associated members having coacting groovesforming a raceway, of independently-movable rollerslocated in theraceway, one ot said members having spaced seats for the rollers openinginto its groove, and means carried by the other member and located inits groove for moving the rollers into coacting' relation with theseats, said rollers when in the seats being located out ot' the grooveotl the other member.

8. In mechanism ot' the class described, the combination withrevolably-associated members having coacting grooves forming a raceway,of rollers mounted in the raceway, one ot' said members having spacedseats opening into its groove and constructed to receive the rollers,and means carried by the other member and projecting into its groove formoving the rollers into coacting' relation with the seats and retainingcertain of said rollers therein.

9. In mechanism ot' the class described, the combination withrevolubly-associated members having telescoped portions, said telescopedportions being provided with coacting' grooves in their adjacent facesforming a raceway, ot' rollers freely and independently movable in theraceway, one ot' said members having seats opening into its groove andconstructed to receive the rollers, and projections carried by the othermember and located in its groove, said projections being constructed toengage the rollers and being movable over the seats when the rollers arein place therein.

10. In mechanism ot' the class described, the combination with areceptacle having an upstanding neck, of a l,ap having a flangetelescoped within, and revolubly associated therewith, said neck andiiange being respectively provided with coacting annular grooves forminga raccway. rollers t'reely movable in the raceway, seats formed in oneot' the telescoped portions and constructed to receive the rollers, andprojections located in the groove ot' the other telescoped portion, saidprojections engaging the rollers when located in the raceway and beingmovable over said rollers when in the seats.

11. .In mechanism ot' the class described, the combination withrelatively revoluble and detachably-associated members, otl a rollerinterposed between and interlocking with the members, one otl saidmembers having a seat to receive the roller and thus disassociate itfrom the other member, and a retaining device for holding the roller inthe seat.

1Q. ln mechanism of the class described, the combination with relativelyrevoluble and detachably-associated members, ot' a roller interposedbetween and interlocking with the members, one otl said members having aseat to receive the roller and thus disassociate it from the othermember, and means for retaining the roller in the seat at'ter themembers are detached.

13. In mechanism ot' the class described, the

IOS

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IIS

combination with relatively revoluble and detachably-associated members,of a roller interposed between and interlocking with the members, one ofsaid members having a seat to receive the roller andY thus disassociateit from the other member, and a sleeve carried by the member and havinga seat, said sleeve being movable over the roller when the mem-v bersare disassociated.

14. In mechanism of the class described, the combination with relativelyrevoluble telescoped members having coacting grooves in their adjacentfaces forming a raceway, of.

rollers freely movable in the raceway, one of said members having seatsto receive the rollers, and a sleeve slidably mounted on said member andmovable over the seat when thev members are disassociated.

y 15. In mechanism of the class described, the combination withrevoluble telescoped and detachably-associated members having coactinggrooves in their adjacent faces, said grooves forming a raceway, ofrollers revolubly mounted in the raceway, one of said members havingseats to receive the f rollers and thus disassociate them from the othermember, means carried by said other member for moving the rollers intocoacting relation with the seats,

and a sleeve carried by the member having the seats, said sleeve beingmovable over the rollers when they are located in the seats and afterthe disassociation of the members.

16. In mechanism of the class described, the combination withrevolubly-associated and relatively longitudinally movable members, of amovable device interposed between the members and interlockingtherewith, one of said members having a seat to receive the device,means for moving the device into coacting relation with the seat, andexposed indicating mechanism carried by the members for determining thepositions of the seat and moving means.

17. In mechanism of the class described, the combination withrevolublyassociated and relatively longitudinally movable members, of amovable device interposed between the members and interlockingtherewith, one of said members having a seat to receive the device,means for moving the device into coacting relation with the seat, andrelatively movable coacting scales carried by the members.Y

18. In mechanism of the class described, the combination withrevolublyassociated and relatively longitudinally movable members, of amovable device interposed between themembers and interlocking therewith,one of said members having a seat to receive the device, means formoving the device into coacting relation with the seat, and relativelymovable coacting scales carried by the members, one of said scales beingmovable upon the member carrying it.

19. In mechanism of the class described, the combination withrevolubly-associated members having an interposed raceway formed inboth, of a roller movable in the raceway and interlocking with themembers, one of said members having a seat to receive the roller, saidroller when in the seat being disassociated from the other member aprojection carried by the other member and located in the raceway, andscales arranged on the exterior of the members for indicating thepositions of the projection and seat.

20. In mechanism of the class described, the combination withrevolubly-associated members having telescoped portions, said portionsbeing provided with a raceway formed in their adjacent faces, a rollerloosely fitted in the raceway, one of said members having a seat toreceive the roller, a projection carried by the other member and locatedin the raceway, a collar revolubly mounted on the exterior of the memberhaving the projection, a scale located on the collar, and another scalemounted on the other member and coacting therewith.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereto afiiXedmy signature in the presence of two witnesses.

NATHANIEL B. STONE.

